WEBVTT EXPLAINS, THE EVIDENCE IS RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT PRIVACY. VICKI: THIS CASE OPENING THE DOOR TO A NEW ADVANTAGE FOR LAW-ENFORCEMENT. JOSEPH D’ANGELO ACCUSED OF THE REAL RATE AND -- SERIAL RAPE AND MURDER. AND NEARLY 40-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY BROKEN BY TECHNOLOGY. >> WE ARE IN A WORLD WHERE DNA IS ONE OF THE GREATEST TOOLS. VICKI: A GENEALOGY SITE CREDITED AS THE MISSING KEEP YOUR WHOLE CASE INVESTIGATORS UPLOADING THE GOLDEN STATE KILLERS DNA, GETTING A MATCH TO A RELATIVE, ULTIMATELY LEADING TO THE 72-YEAR-OLD FROM DEAR. -- FRONT DOOR. THE DNA MATCH COMING FROM HIS HOME, AND AGAIN WHILE IN CUSTODY. >> AT THIS POINT, WE CAN FEEL VERY CONFIDENT AND HAVE VERY STRONG SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT THAT HIS DNA WAS AT CRIME SCENES. VICKI: STEPS TOWARD PAINFULLY OVERDUE JUSTICE, BUT HIGHLIGHTING AND ETHICAL GRAY AREA. UNLIKE OTHER SITES, GED.ATCH CAN BE ACCESS WITHOUT A COURT ORDER. >> EVERYBODY WANTED TO FIND THE SKY. OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS A WONDERFUL OUTCOME. BUT WE ALSO NEED TO BE DISCUSSING THE APPROPRIATENESS OF USING GENEALOGY DATABASES. VICKI: A LEGAL WILD WEST, WITH SOCIAL MEDIA SITES UNDER SCRUTINY, THE USE OF COMMERCIAL GENEALOGY IS RAISING A NEW CONVERSATION IN PRIVACY. >> PEOPLE WHO UPLOAD THEIR GENETIC INFORMATION TO THESE WEBSITES MIGHT NOT REALIZE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT HAVE ACCESS TO THESE PROFILES, POTENTIALLY, MAYBE SUBJECTING YOUR RELATIVES, SOME YOU MAY NOT EVEN KNOW. VICKI: A NEW AREA PROSECUTORS ARE PREPARING TO DEFEND IN COURT. >> IT IS THE BEGINNING OF WHAT I CAN ASSURE YOU I

The revelation that investigators compelled a genetic company to provide user information adds to a growing debate about legal and privacy concerns involving law enforcement and companies whose millions of users submit their DNA to discover their heritage.

Investigators compared crime-scene DNA linked to East Area Rapist, also known as the Golden State Killer, to information on a free online genealogical site, YSearch.org. They said they spotted a rare genetic marker that the Oregon man shared with the killer who is believed to be responsible for 12 killings and nearly 50 rapes in the 1970s and 80s.

The website's parent company, which also owns FamilyTreeDNA.com, said Tuesday it received a subpoena the same month that "sought limited information, with respect to a single user account" from federal investigators in California.

The company, Gene-by-Gene Ltd., said it complied with the subpoena "to the minimum degree legally required" but didn't notify the user because it didn't want to interfere with the investigation.

Court documents said there was only one match among more than 189,000 searchable genetic records on the website. The documents identified a specific user ID, the user's first name and the most distant paternal relative in the family tree.

A company spokeswoman told the AP last week it hadn't been contacted by law enforcement, but later disclosed the subpoena after a further review of company records.

The Oregon City man is in extremely poor health in a rehabilitation facility and was unable to answer questions Friday. His daughter said his family wasn't initially aware authorities took his DNA but later worked with the FBI before investigators ultimately determined none of her relatives were viable suspects.

Detectives turned to a different genealogical site and arrested Joseph DeAngelo, 72, last week at his Citrus Heights home who they say was one of California's most elusive serial killers.

On Tuesday, the AP and several other news organizations filed a motion to unseal DeAngelo's arrest warrant and the search warrants detectives obtained, citing the public's longstanding right to access court records and immense public interest in the case.

Attorneys for the news organizations argue that the warrants may provide additional details about the DNA techniques that were used and "the importance of public access to the warrant information sought here cannot be overstated."

The issue of law enforcement comparing DNA to samples in genealogical databases garnered national attention several years ago when a New Orleans filmmaker was wrongly identified as a potential suspect in an Idaho killing based on a DNA sample that his father had given years earlier as part of a church genealogy project.